Prime Time Tonight was an informational channel guide-style segment aired on The Weather Channel from October 1989 to July 1991. The segment gave a three-minute run-through a variety of upcoming and current programming on different channels, including The Weather Channel’s own weather coverage. The segment would air every evening at :27 and :57 past the hour. Channel and programming information was placed on top of national feed video by use of the local headend’s Weather Star 4000, allowing for local channel numbers and program times to be displayed.[1] The segment was meant to be limited to select locales, although technical errors would occasionally lead to the video, audio,[2] or both video and audio of the segment airing in other areas not meant to receive the segment.
The segment would detail upcoming and current programs for select channels up to four categories—Drama/Specials, Sports, Movies, and News/Weather—before airing a short recap of the programs in those categories. Additional categories like Family, and Music/Variety would also be used in the mix as well.
It was announced in November 1987 that The Weather Channel's parent company at the time, Landmark Communications, along with Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI), and Cable Video Entertainment reached an agreement to form a joint-venue project to cross-promote programing from other cable networks with a segment called "Prime Time Tonight".[3] With The Weather Channel nearly five years old at that point after previously pioneering with the Weather Star technology for the Local Forecast inserts, Landmark Communications wanted to provide a new take for localized insertions by using The Weather Channel's own Weather Star units to use it to promote upcoming cable network programing.[3] A seven-member cable advisory board were appointed to help formulate the new service's format.[3] Early beta testing on Prime Time Tonight took place between January-April 1988 in portions of nine systems, reaching 18,000 subscribers.[4] Experiential test markets included Pittsburgh, PA (TCI), Syracuse, NY (New-Channels), and Gastonia, N.C. (ATC).[5] The demonstration of Prime Time Tonight was first reviled in the May 1988 National Cable Television Association convention.[3][4] During the beta testing phase, viewers were pleased and also encouraged to continue to watch The Weather Channel with the Prime Time Tonight segment in place.[5] After when the beta testing was completed, plans to make Prime Time Tonight into a separate company and to offer this service for a fee for cable affiliates were planned.[5] Around this time, development on the Weather Star 4000 was announced as The Weather Channel wanted to develop its first ever graphical Local Forecast system.[5] Plans of making Prime Time Tonight into a separate service were never considered at the time and it would instead use The Weather Channel's existing channel space in its place, even to complete with the then-newly launched Prevue Guide (owned by United Video at the time).[6] The planning on Prime Time Tonight began around July 1988[6] and was later approved by August 1988.[7] TCI would become one-third owners of Prime Time Tonight, while United Cable, Continental Cablevision, Newhouse, Centel, Colony and Telecable have given verbal commitments to launch the service.[7][8] By then, the commitments had totaled between 7.5 million and 8 million subscribers. A plan was to reach by 10 million homes by October 31, 1988, before fully committing to launch the service. Prime Time Tonight also pitched to other cable providers to carry the service during the development.[8] Cable providers were required to purchase a brand new $4,000 (USD) Weather Star 4000 unit to receive the promotional feeds.[8] Between 500 and 2,000 units were planed initially and prototypes began to roll out about a month later.[8] The service cost operators 1.3 cents per month up until 15 million homes were signed, and one cent thereafter.[8]Prime Time Tonight did not do any advertising in the service, that would give Prime Time Tonight revenue of about $2 million a year.[8] The service was originally planned to launch on April 1, 1989,[8][9] but was later announced during the May 1989 National Cable Television Association, that the Weather Star 4000 would began to roll out by late July-early August 1989 and that the Prime Time Tonight service (along with the reveling of the Weather Star 4000) would launch on August 1, 1989.[10] However, the launch didn't come until around October 1989.[11]
The Launch of Prime Time Tonight
Prime Time Tonight began airing on The Weather Channel around October 1989.[11] Some cable systems didn't get the segment until around December 26, 1989, as there were some equipment bugs early on.[12] When the segment launched along with the rollout of the Weather Star 4000, there were 400 cable systems serving seven million homes.[12] The segment featured local listings and previews of programs airing that evening on cable TV during prime time (hence the name).[11] It was narrated by two unidentified male announcers.[1][13] A third male announcer occasionally filled in.[14] The local listings were made possible by the Weather Star 4000.[1][13][14] While the Weather Star III (3000) also had the ability to display information based on a viewer's location, it could not display any graphics.[2][11] Only viewers whose cable system had the Weather Star 4000 were able to see the segment.[11] Occasionally, the 4000 would sometimes even blackout certain segments of Prime Time Tonight and replace the audio feed from the featured highlight to the Prime Time Tonight background music (like programing from channels that were not available on the local cable system, local sports blackouts, or syndicated programing blackout restrictions).[15] Additionally, as part of the initial testing phase, the segment was only made available to viewers in the Pacific and Eastern Time zones. So, viewers in the Mountain and Central Time zones never got to see the segment.[11] The segment ran from 6:56 PM to 10:31 PM Eastern Time (3:56 PM to 7:31 PM Pacific Time) and from 7:56 PM to 11:31 PM Pacific Time (10:56 PM to 2:31 AM Eastern Time).[11] It was comprised of a one-minute local forecast, the segment itself, and another one-minute local forecast.[11] Viewers who didn't get Prime Time Tonight saw a short studio segment (usually a radar recap), a three-minute local forecast, and another short studio segment (usually the 24-hour forecast).[11] Since there were three Local Forecasts going on in the studio, one right after the other, the songs were recorded together. So instead of three different tracks, it was one five-minute track with a short pause in between songs.[11] Sometimes the third Local Forecast would start before the previous song had ended. Weather Star III (3000) viewers, who did not see Prime Time Tonight (except in error), had a separate playlist with five songs. The same song would play every half hour during the night. The next day, a different song would play throughout the night. Some Weather Star III (3000) viewers heard the Prime Time Tonight audio over their three-minute local forecast.[2] Also, occasionally the three-song set would play during the 5 minute "N" flavor during the late-night hours. When Prime Time Tonight was over in the Eastern Time zone, viewers there would get the three-minute "J" flavor Local Forecast until the segment was done airing in the west. For whatever reason, The Weather Channel decided to use songs for this segment that were not part of the current playlist. They also lacked narration.[11] There were two playlists during the segment's run, with the second one starting in June 1991.
During Prime Time Tonight's run, a contest was held for Prime Time Tonight's "Frequent Promoter Campaign" which enabled cable operators to win prizes by advertising Prime Time Tonight to viewers throughout September-October 1990. Cable operators who carry eight 30-second spots daily during those two months were entered into a drawing for a 1991 Toyota truck. Also, nine operators who compile the most points by carrying print and TV ads would win entertainment products from Sony. The prizes were awarded on December 15, 1990.[16]
The demise of Prime Time Tonight
In July 1991, it was announced that The Weather Channel decided to discontinue the Prime Time Tonight segment due to a shift in the industry focus that was moving the focus away from the tune-in strategy, combined with an uncertain financial climate at the time and lower-than-projected distribution. As a result, the two-year experiment failed (nearly four years overall since when it's planning began in 1987). The segment ended when The Weather Channel's two-year joint-venue contract with TCI, Landmark, Cox, Newhouse and Cable Video Entertainment expired in 1991.[11][17] Despite of the demise of Prime Time Tonight and it's lower than expected distribution numbers, it would still pave the way for Weather Star 4000 as more cable systems eventually upgraded to the 4000 after when the segment was dropped.
Music Playlists for Prime Time Tonight
The playlist listed below were used for areas that did not get Prime Time Tonight segment or for areas that had a 4000 that would have gotten the one-minute segment before and after the Prime Time Tonight segment. This playlist was used only for the Prime Time Tonight segments and was not used in the regular Local Forecast music playlists. These tunes that were used for the Prime Time Tonight segment also did not contain any narration for neither Weather Star model compared to the regular playlist.
↑ 1.01.11.2"Prime Time Tonight"(MP4). TWC Classics. An example of an early "Prime Time Tonight" broadcast from February 1990 through normal operation. February 1990. Archived from the original on April 5, 2025. Retrieved January 12, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
↑ 2.02.12.2""Prime Time Tonight" audio over local forecast"(MP4). TWC Classics. An example of a Weather Star III (3000) incorrectly playing the "Prime Time Tonight" audio feed as it was meant for the Weather Star 4000, while the 3000 does its regular three-minute "J" flavor Local Forecast, blocking out the video display of the segment. Note: This is also the earliest known broadcast of the "Prime Time Tonight" segement. Columbus, MS. November 26, 1989. Archived(MP4) from the original on April 5, 2025. Retrieved January 12, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
↑"Fates & Fortunes"(PDF). Broadcasting. "Prime Time Tonight, Atlanta-based cable program promotional service slated to launch April 1989.". October 31, 1988. p. 76. Retrieved January 12, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link) CS1 maint: url-status (link)
↑ 13.013.1"Prime Time Tonight"(MP4). TWC Classics. A later broadcast from around August 1990 with an updated intro and different unknown male announcer. August 1990. Archived(MP4) from the original on April 5, 2025. Retrieved January 12, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
↑ 14.014.1"Prime Time Tonight"(MP4). TWC Classics. Another unknown male announcer was featured in this clip. December 1990. Archived(MP4) from the original on April 5, 2025. Retrieved January 12, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
↑"Prime Time Tonight"(MP4). TWC Classics. Note: See the 0:57 mark. For unknown reasons, the 4000 "blacks out" a featured highlight during the Movies segment. This may have been an error on the 4000. 1990. Archived(MP4) from the original on April 5, 2025. Retrieved January 12, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
↑"Promotion Plans"(PDF). Broadcasting. August 6, 1990. p. 55. Retrieved January 12, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
